This 8 Week Online Course Will Equip You With Everything You Need To Know To Forage in Southern Arizona!
Harvest Edible Plants, Increase Your Emergency Food Security, And Turn Your Yard Into A Desert Oasis...
Nutritious Food, Emergency Preparedness, and A Better Awareness of the Natural World: Wild Edible Plants Can Change Your Life!
Hi, my name is Matthew Hunter. When I was only 17 years old I started learning about the world of edible plants and foraging. I wanted to know: What did Native Americans eat in the past? How did they live? Why don't we still eat the plants they used to eat? Surely we are surrounded by edible plants, but we just don't know about them, right?
My hunch that edible plants surround us proved to be absolutely right. I quickly started learning plants and amassing a small library of wild food books, and I was amazed at the new world I was discovering right in my own neighborhood!
Wild plants are everywhere! I was learning about their amazing nutritional benefits, their importance as emergency or survival foods, and getting outside meant I was learning a lot about nature too, all while having tons of FUN in the process!
It's been over 10 years since I first started foraging, and a couple years ago I started an online class for high-school age homeschoolers. It was a major success. I found that teaching plants online is very effective if the students are willing to put in the work. I had 16 and 17 year olds eating brand new plants right from their own yards and favorite hiking areas! And not just one or two, one student ate 20 new plants during one of my online summer courses!
I started realizing that not only is online instruction very effective, there is also a huge demand for it! People really want to learn how to forage, and I know how to teach them! This realization led me to create Sonoran Desert Foraging, an online video guide for Southern Arizonans that details our region's edible plants!
The Ultimate Guide To The Edible Plants of Southern Arizona
Sonoran Desert Foraging is an online video course designed to equip the learner with everything they need to harvest edible wild plants in Southern Arizona.
Throughout the year of 2022 I went out into the field almost every week to film instructional videos covering all of the major edible plants in our region. During that process, I also photographed each plant and created a comprehensive ebook covering each plant in detail!
Students of this course will get both the videos and the ebook when they sign up, as well as my sustainable design series which will teach them how to create a desert "food forest" on their property.
Lastly, students will get to join my online members-only community where they can post pictures of plants and get all of their questions answered. It's especially useful for helping you identify new plants before you eat them! (The best part is you'll even get to stay in the online group after the course is over).
Learn How To Recognize Key Food Resources In Your Region
Pass Down Important Skills to the Next Generation!
Harvest the Desert's Abundance!
Reconnect With The Natural World!
Mark Hofgard ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"This course is a must-have for Sonoran desert dwellers. I am an avid hiker and I connect with nature on a daily basis. But I had no idea what to eat, how to identify it, what considerations must be addressed before eating, and what really grows in this environment. This course is ideally suited for those wanting to learn about eating healthy from the desert. I highly recommend Mathew's courses and writings for anyone who wants to deepen their knowledge of the wonderful place that we live."
Tiffany Rubio ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"This was the only course I found that covered foraging and herbs in this much detail, and the only one in the Sonoran Desert area that was online. It has been amazing and very enjoyable to learn about the edible and medicinal uses of the herbs, as well as how to preserve them. I'm also looking forward to learning how to cultivate these plants in your garden."
Tyler Heald ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Matthew's expertise is invaluable in this niche world of Sonoran Desert foraging! I was delighted by the wealth of resources and knowledge shared along with his kind and responsive demeanor and clear passion for the subject matter. 5 Stars!"
Jeremy Werner ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Matthew is the read deal and passionate about his work which shows in his courses and involvement. Very well prepared course with great resources. I am very thankful I invested in this course."
Stacy Stepp ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"This class is like no other! The instructor, Matthew Hunter, is very knowledgeable about the plants he is teaching, and it's quite obvious that he desires for each and every student to leave his class with the same knowledge that he has."
Topics Covered In This Course...
A Crash Course Into The World Of Wild Food
- Learn the step-by-step process I've used to safely consume over 300 plants from the wild
- Plant identification basics: how to avoid ANY poisonous lookalike- no matter how closely it looks like the real thing
- Wild food resources: Get a list of the best books and free online resources for studying plants in Southern Arizona
- Tips for learning plants QUICKLY (and how to avoid making rookie mistakes)
Foraging From Beginner to Advanced
- Learn the ins-and-outs of harvesting various plant parts: leafy greens, shoots, nuts, fruits, roots, flowers, beans, teas, spices, and more!
- Antinutrients, carcinogens, and aflatoxins: How I've eaten hundreds of wild plants without fear of disaster- and how you can too!
- Sustainable harvesting guidelines: How to make sure each plant you harvest thrives from year-to-year
- Included with this course: A detailed Sonoran Desert Harvesting Calendar that will help you show up to each edible plant in our region and the exact time it’s ready for harvest
Processing, Preparing, and Preserving: What To Do With Your Foraged Finds...
- Avoiding a kitchen disaster: Tips for preparing wild food dishes that will impress even your most skeptical friends
- Harvesting equipment: All of the tools you'll need for desert foraging
- Wild food preservation: How to store your foraged finds for future use
Urban Foraging
- Learn the most common edible plants found in desert cities.
- Superfoods hiding underfoot: 5 widespread weeds with extremely high nutrient profiles
- Learn the 3 easy rules for avoiding plants that have been contaminated with pesticides, herbicides, and other carcinogenic chemicals
- Going gourmet with wild garden greens: Learn why the WEEDS growing in your yard are more nutritious than the vegetables in your neighbor's garden!
Tasty Desert Foods from A to Z
- Wolfberries: Harvesting the desert's most common edible berry
- Desert chia: Southern Arizona's native wild chia seed
- Devil's claw: Delicious desert vegetable and emergency seed crop
- Food from cactus: Saguaro fruit, cholla buds, and prickly pear
- And many, many more...
Living Off The Land With Wild Plants
- Learn the high-calorie survival foods that can REALISTICALLY feed you if an emergency strikes
- Discover 4 key strategies for living off the land with wild plants
- Learn which plants Native Americans in the Sonoran Desert used to survive during hard times and famine
Designing a Desert Food Forest: How to Create a Sustainable Edible Oasis Right On Your Own Property
- Plan and implement an off-grid desert food system (Course includes a pre-recorded sustainable design mini-course for homesteaders and permaculture designers)
- Step-by-step directions for selecting the right trees for your property
- Useful tips for growing food solely with rainwater- so you aren't dependent on the power grid and the coming increases in water prices
- Get a list of all of the best "survival" plants for our region (Including a calendar that shows when each one is harvested, so you can create a system that produces food all year long
Medicinal Plants of the Desert
- Herbal actions and what they mean- from astringents to vulneraries
- Making tinctures, teas, and other herbal preparations
- A few common medicinal plants of the Sonoran Desert
What's Included In The Course
The Most Comprehensive Video Guide to Edible Sonoran Desert Plants Ever Created!
In 2022 I had one major goal: To film instructional videos on all of the major edible plants in the Sonoran Desert region. Systematically documenting our region's edible plants in video form had never been done before- until now!
When you enroll in Sonoran Desert Foraging, you'll get lifetime access to the most unique, one-of-a-kind video tutorials ever made for our area.
With my videos you'll actually get to see each step in the process, from clear identification, to harvesting, preparing, and preserving.
Videos will allow you to learn plants 10x faster than reading it from a book alone. That being said, I also wrote a book that you'll be getting as well! (See below).
Each video is filmed in the field, and in many cases each plant is covered in greater detail than can be found anywhere else: in other words, you won't find this information on Youtube...
(In fact, some of the plants in this course have never had their edible uses covered in video form until now, which makes mine the very first! Isn't that wild??)
Full-Length Downloadable Ebook So You Can Have The Information On Your Phone Wherever You Go!
This full-length ebook covers edible plants of the Sonoran Desert and includes high quality pictures for confident identification, information on sustainable harvesting, preparation, and detailed distribution maps.
It can be used as a stand-alone guide for harvesting desert plants, and can be downloaded to your phone for use in the field, or printed, so you can access the information without internet or electricity.
Create An Edible Desert Oasis In Your Own Backyard With My Sustainable Design Mini-Course
Want to create a "food forest" in your own backyard and start producing clean, organic food that can withstand even the worst drought?
With my sustainable design series you can learn food production techniques specifically for the Sonoran Desert. After getting my Permaculture Design Certificate from the Sonoran Desert Permaculture Guild in Tucson, I started integrating my knowledge of local edible plants with desert-specific design strategies to create a one-of-a-kind sustainable design course that will jump-start your quest for an all-edible landscape and garden.
With clear step-by-step directions on site analysis, tree selection and placement, passive solar design, water harvesting, plant guilds, and common landscaping mistakes, this series will take the mystery out of designing a food forest. You'll know exactly what to do, and exactly where to start.
1-On-1 Access To The Instructor So You Never Feel Like You're All On Your Own!
When people start foraging they're often afraid they'll misidentify a plant and eat the wrong thing... OR, they find a plant and have no idea what to do with it.
With Sonoran Desert Foraging this will never be a problem, because when you sign up, you'll get to join our members-only online community where you can ask questions, post pictures of plants you've found, and get feedback! I (Matthew) will personally answer your questions and confirm (or deny) your identifications so you know 100% for certain that you're eating the right plant!
With this program, you'll be able to ask questions and get guidance for years to come!
George Clifford ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"The course is very informative and the accompanied photos and explanations are excellent, I've been very satisfied."
Lyssa McPherson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"I am extremely impressed with the quality of this course and its creator, Matthew. I have been in higher education for over 10 years and have had extensive experience in course work related to plant identification, ecosystem management and outdoor recreation adventures. This course has reignited my enthusiasm in returning to my 'roots' of exploring the wilderness and deepening my love of the amazing plant community here in the Sonoran Desert."
Earl ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Great information presented in a fun and informative manner."
I'm so sure that you'll love Sonoran Desert Foraging that I'm offering an outrageous guarantee: You have 14 days to change your mind and ask for a refund. No hassle, no hard feelings.
That's a pretty risky guarantee, isn't it? Well, I'm not worried about it. I'm so sure that you'll love my course that I can sleep soundly, even with a guarantee that most business owners would say is crazy.
What If A Single Decision Taken Today Could Ensure You Have A Clean, Reliable, and FREE Source of Food For Many Years to Come?
✅ Discover the process I and my students use to identify edible plants with 100% confidence, so you can avoid eating poisonous look-alikes. (I’ve personally used this exact method to eat over 300 edible wild plants, and I’ve successfully taught students who were brand new to foraging.)
✅ Gain access a reliable, organic food source that is pesticide free and non-GMO.
✅ Design your own sustainable desert "food forest".
✅ Pass down important skills to the next generation before they lose the ability to be self-reliant!
✅ Discover the guidelines to sustainably harvest the different types of plants and ensure they keep coming back in healthy populations year after year.
✅ Learn desert-specific strategies and tips for growing food in extreme heat and drought conditions.
✅ Get valuable insights and strategies for living off the land in a real food emergency- learned from over 10 years of regular foraging and extensive research.
✅ Discover the tips, techniques, and equipment for processing and storing wild foods – so you know exactly what to do after you harvest them.
✅ Increase your awareness of the natural world and the desert you call home!
By the end of Sonoran Desert Foraging, you’ll be equipped with everything you need to know confidently harvest wild plants all on your own...
Join me and discover the forgotten skills, tools, and knowledge that enable my students to reconnect with nature, forage for wild plants responsibly, and have a reliable source of nutritious food all year round.
Click the button above to enroll now!
Meet Your Instructor
Matthew Hunter is the creator of three outdoor education courses: Fundamentals of Wilderness Survival, Foraging 101, and Sonoran Desert Foraging. He has filmed over 150 videos about edible wild plants and outdoor skills, and regularly leads plant walks in his local area. He also maintains a foraging blog, and is the author of Sonoran Desert Foraging, a book that is set to be published in 2023. He lives in Mesa with his wife and daughter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will This Course Work For My Son/Daughter?
Sonoran Desert Foraging is homeschool-mom approved. It was made for adults, but will also work great as a high-school nature/science/outdoor course. Hands-on video tutorials will equip students with a seasonal guide to harvesting wild plants. After watching the videos, they'll be begging you to take them out into the desert to explore! Get ready for a mess in the kitchen after buying this course!
How Long Will I Be Able To Access The Videos?
There is no time limit on the videos, online community, or ebook. Once you enroll in the course they're yours for life.
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